Tarpaulin



July 24, 1951 H. F. wENzEL ET A1. f 2,562,005

TARPAULI N Filed June 4, 1947 @rrolP/VEKS.

Patented July 24, 1951 Clayton, Mo., assign 4"; .2, Claims.

he present invention relatesfparticularly to a tarpaulirijalthough it will be understood that; its virri, Vciples'may be appliedftoothfer items'o l e trf f It is an object of the invention to provide atarpaulin that is particularly strong and durable.

`Specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a tarpaulin that has an edge construction that is highly resistant to stresses applied to the edge, that has grommets that are highly resistant to being pulled out, and that is resistantl to destruction by wnd causing the tarpaulin to Whip. A further object is tol provide a construction as the foregoing, wherein these desired objectives can be obtained without unduly increasing the cost of manufacturing the tarpaulins.

While this invention is particularly related to tarpaulins, it will be understood that features of it may be used in other connections. Further objects will appear from the description to follow.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tarpaulin, with the hem upwardly;

Fig. 2 is a View of the verse side of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a corner of the tarpaulin appearing in Fig. 1;

tarpaulin i from the re- Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4--4 of Fig. 3

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the tarpaulin at a middle grommet in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6. The tarpaulin is, in general, formed of one or more sheets of material such as canvasduck. In the present illustration, there are two sheets I and II, that are stitched together by a doublestitched seam I2.

There are side hems I3 and I4, and end hems I 5 and I6. These hems are formed from the body of cloth by having the edges thereof folded around a cord I1, overlapping the body of cloth, and turned under. Finally, two rows of ,stitching are employed, one row being adjacent the cord I1 and the other row of stitching vbeing spaced therefrom. The cord I1 is continuous around the tarpaulin, and may' have its ends secured together at some point such as at 20.

The side hem I3 may be described as typical, and the upper left corner will typify the corner construction. As shown in Fig. 4,. the main body of material I0 is lapped around the cord I1 and has a portion 22 that overlies themain body of material I0. rhis portion 22 is inturned at 23. The top hem I likewise extends down over this corner. As most clearly appears in Fig, 5, it in- 1, .2.5625005 lfa. I'aiinmIiI.;N H ,i Herman F. Wenzel, Fenton, andFred WfWenzel;

ors to HEWenzcl Tent`1&- Louis, Mo., v adcorporation ofi e cludes' a vportion; 25 :over-lying 'the main =body-;of material' and ,inturnedat 26. v This portion-,.25 likewise overl-ies the'portion ,22 asapp earsxparffy ticularlyf inFigsIfSi, .4'a'nd' 5. As shown inA Figfd, the portion 25 also containscancinturned portion which is an extension of the portionf22 and which 'is at right angles to the inturned portion 26. This extension of portion 22 is trimmed -prior to assembly so that it extends inwardly substantially as shown in Fig. 4. A row of stitching 21 extends along the side of the hem just inside of the cord I1. Another row of stitching 28 is used to stitch down the inner edge of the hem. The upper hem is secured by corresponding rows of stitching 29 and 30.

A grommet 32 is located in the corner o-f the tarpaulin, passing through the several thicknesses of both hems as indicated. Likewise, the grommet is disposed closely adjacent the cord I1, so that, when the grommet is compressed into place,

it can be held by the cord. As the cord extends around the tarpaulin, it will be seen that the load on the grommet is thus distributed and is in the main carried by the cord.

The' grommets may be disposed at suitable intervals along'the edge of the tarpaulin. Another grommet has been-illustrated in connection with the middle seam I2. Reference to Figs. 6 and 7 will show that the portions of material I0 and II are overlapped at this point, then are wrapped over the cord I1, and brought back at 44 and 45, respectively7 and nally inturned at their extreme edge, as shown at 46 and 41. The rows of stitching 21 and 28 extend down through these hem members. A grommet 50 is located adjacent the edge in such wise as to be supported against being pulled out by the cord I1, aided by the hem construction indicated. Thus, if a rope for tying down the tarpaulin is inserted through the grommet 30, the force of the rope will be taken to a large extent by the cord I1, which will distribute this force over the edgeof the tarpaulin without its being confined largely to the material in the corner. The `double hemming aids in the security of the grommet, but the primary force is taken up by the cording. Experience has shown that this construction very greatly increases the strength of the tarpaulin. The illustrated grommets are typical two-part devices, each having two annular elements, as at 54 and 55, with the element 54 having a center portion tting throughv the hole in the collar element 55, and compressed securely thereinto. The grommets are illustrated as mounted over the cord, but it will be understood that the primary object is to secure them so that they Will apply the load to the cord, and hence some variation in manner of mounting them is permissible within the limits of this principle. j

It is found that a tarpaulin collstruci'led as herein indicated is very much stronger than any heretofore in use. This comes about particularly because of the cording and the disposition of the grommets adjacent the cording, and also Within the multiple thickness of the hem material.

What is claimed is:

1, In a tarpaulin, a sheet of fabric material, a

side hem thereon consisting of an overlapped edge of the sheet stitched down in overlapped relation, an end hem of like construction, said hems overlapping in a corner, the said hems providing a continuous recess for reception of a cord, a Ilexible cord in said recess of both hems,

the cord extending around the corner, being con-V 4 2. In a tarpaulin or the like, a sheet of material having a plurality of edges with at least one corner between adjacent edges, and with the edges thereof folded over so as to form a hem around the material, said hems overlapping at the corner, a continuous flexible cord enclosed in the hem adjacent the=outer edgethereofand extending around the corner, and a'grommet in said corner of the hem portion of the sheet adjacent said cord, said grommet being fastened to the material and to the cord.

HERMAN F. WENZEL.

FRED W. WENZEL.

, REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

tinuous on said side and said end, and a grommet :e

including a center tubular section passing through the overlapping hems at the corner, said grommet being disposed adjacent the cord so as to transmit substantially directly to the cord outward forces l applied to the grommet.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Morrison Aug. 181936' 

